Cabin size - Trad/Cruiser

[Freetochat]

I favour a trad stern and the thoughts were to maximise the cabin area. But, what would my cabin length loss be if I went for a cruiser stern?

[carlt]

I favour a trad stern and the thoughts were to maximise the cabin area. But, what would my cabin length loss be if I went for a cruiser stern?

Depends how big your cruiser stern is.

[StephenA]

Don't forget that space lost under a cruiser stern is space gained by the removal of an engine room.

 

Mintball's stern deck is about 6 foot long but it does mean that you can have 4 people being sociable on there, and we've even had picnics on it as we've cruised along.

Edited May 31, 2007 by StephenA

[Adam]

There was a topic on this a while back.

 

I think the average length is about 6-7ft. But if you have a trad you have got you 3ft6???? then your engine room/ bulge where you engine is

 

I always liked the cruiser stern but then decided on a semi trad due to the seating but then decided a trad would be ok as there is only the two of us. also with a trad your engine is safer

[Liam]

Whether it's a 7ft cruiser stern or a 3ft 6 trad stern with 3ft of engine inside the boat, you've still got 7ft of space at the back end. I think the key word here is DRY space. The space by the engine in a trad style boat can be utilised better. You can hang coats, store tools, lump hammer, mooring pings, windlasses etc.

 

I think people use the lack of space for socialising as an argument for Cruiser stern boats. I don't agree with this as I tend to find that cruiser stern boats have a smaller bow area and trad stern boats have a bigger bow/cratch.

[StephenA]

also with a trad your engine is safer

 

Safer?

[Liam]

Safer?

I suppose in a way, it is really. The majority of most cruiser sterned boats have big deck boats which can be lifted up, because they're not locked in anyway. It doesn't stop someone from nicking a part of your engine or causing some sort of damage.

[Gary Peacock]

Everybody should really have cruiser sterns because they are quick and easy to build making the builder many more beer tokens!

 

End of argument.

[Adam]

Everybody should really have cruiser sterns because they are quick and easy to build making the builder many more beer tokens!

 

End of argument.

 

And i take it semi trads are the hardest?

[Gary Peacock]

And i take it semi trads are the hardest?

 

No trads are the most unprofitable.

[Sir Nibble]

Argument over then. The beers are on Gary.

[John Orentas]

When designing and building your first narrowboat and fired with the first flush of enthusiasm your priorities and are very different from those which seem important a couple of years later, many people are unduly influenced by their first boating experiences, probably a hire boat and that probably a cruiser.

 

Only after a few years of looking at other designs and considering what they have to offer do you begin to realise that perhaps your pride and joy is perhaps not perfect for your needs. In my case being a bit of and engine nerd I would yearn for a nice dry engine room, I was also taking more of an interest in the history of the canal system and the craft that were designed to operate on it, so a more old fashioned appearance was an attraction.

 

Not having a family and having a dislike of children anyway I could not think of anything worse than entertaining a crowd of noisy sticky little creatures around me. So there it was my second boat designed itself, a traditional with a large engine room and large front deck. Cabin space is not a priority for me but anyway I don't think that there is a loss of useful cabin space with the trad design, remember the engine room does not just house an engine, it's a place for all that stuff that you don't particularly want in in your living space.

[Keeping Up]

There seems to be a general bias against cruiser sterns, sometimes verging on snobbery, and wherever we go people ask us which hire-fleet we bought our boat from. We chose a cruiser stern for a number of reasons, including the fact that we had 2 children and 2 dogs who all wanted to be on the deck at once (the children have grown up but all our dogs have always liked to be on the stern with me). A lot of the time when we are cruising, we like to have friends to spend time with us, and the cruiser stern is more sociable for a number of people. And having the engine under the rear deck absolutely minimises the possibility of the smell of oil or diesel from getting into the cabin. It certainly doesn't mean we have a smaller bow area either, all the dimensions were what we chose them to be.

 

It all comes down to personal preference. If I had another boat built, I'd opt for a cruiser stern again.

[Adam]

No trads are the most unprofitable.

 

So why do boat builders charge extra for a semi trad?

[Breals]

It's all swings and roundabouts. There's room for storage under a cruiser deck too. Many cruiser sterns look lovely and they are practical if you have large numbers of family or friends. Some of the seventies cruisers were much more creatively designed than the current, conservative, 'fake working boats' - for example the boat Keeping Up's design was based on. They didn't feel the need to pretend boat's were authentic back then!

 

Saying that, I do have a yearning for a replica tug - they look so pretty! Easy on the rivets, tho...

[Adam]

It's all swings and roundabouts. There's room for storage under a cruiser deck too. Many cruiser sterns look lovely and they are practical if you have large numbers of family or friends. Some of the seventies cruisers were much more creatively designed than the current, conservative, 'fake working boats' - for example the boat Keeping Up's design was based on. They didn't feel the need to pretend boat's were authentic back then!

 

Saying that, I do have a yearning for a replica tug - they look so pretty! Easy on the rivets, tho...

 

i think the big tug decks are a bit of a waste of space

[BlueStringPudding]

There seems to be a general bias against cruiser sterns, sometimes verging on snobbery, and wherever we go people ask us which hire-fleet we bought our boat from.

It all comes down to personal preference. If I had another boat built, I'd opt for a cruiser stern again.

 

Ours is ex-hire and a cruiser stern. But we really wanted a cruiser stern. Having spent Christmas on a trad, we learned pretty sharpish that we wanted outside space while cruising rather than having two of us wedged in to a small space. Plus we want to bring guests round... and we can more easily hop on and off the cruiser stern to the bank/towpath.

 

A cruiser stern was one of the two requirements Kev insisted our boat would have to meet. The other being having one extra cabin (in addition to bedroom and living room area). Which I have to agree with - we've lived in a modern open-plan house before and it just didn't suit us. If one of us wants to quietly read a book or concentrate on doing some writing, they'd have to sit in the bedroom because of the noise of the washing machine, or the fridge cutting in, or the tele being on would get really annoying. Also sometimes it's nice to shut the door on a sink full of washing up and just do it later... without having to look at it from the sofa!

[Gary Peacock]

The type of customers and choice of boat that builders really like.

 

Is the I want to feel the history and the life of old and have a Trad or Tug Replica (God only knows what that actually is!) built! At that point the beer tokens are clearly visible and the builder rushers off to order shed loads of washers and a big brass headlight!

 

He then makes another instalment on his holiday apartment on the golf course in Spain. (Always useful if a quick exit needs to be made from the boating industry!)

 

You pays your money and you makes your choices. The customer is always right!

[Timleech]

Whatever you choose, don't go for a square stern.

I had the doubtful privilege of collecting a boat with a completely square cruiser stern a few weeks ago, a 3-day trip at normal cruising rates which included coming down Cheshire Locks.

It was the only time I've really felt that a bow thruster might have been useful, as there was absolutely no way to steer the boat out of the lock tails, & often the option was to either bounce along the waterway wall for a while, or stop & push the bows out. Luckily the weather was good (cruiser stern weather).

Lots of room for socialising, but to my mind better for enjoying a drink in the evening sunshine after tying up than for boating.

 

Tim

[grunders]

You can still socialise with a trad stern; it just means being content with standing on the gunnels or tipcat(s) or sitting on the roof.

 

Admittedly, none are probably as practical or comfortable as being able to actually stand/sit on the deck proper.

[David Schweizer]

I suppose that having started my boating on an ex GUCC working boat, my enthusiasm for "Trad" sterns is understandable, after all it is what I am used to.

 

However, over the years I have come to realise that the last thing I want when steering the boat is a hoard of people standing around (and in front of) me enjoying themselves, totally oblivous of the canal ahead, and getting in the way when a sudden manouvre has to be made. I do not want to share the steering deck with anyone else, or their dog, I want all the space for myself. After all you wouldn't want half the world clamouruing around you when you are driving a car, so why endure it when steering a boat?

 

If people find my company so desirable, I am quite happy for them to stand on the gunwale, clutching the hand rail. or sit on the cabin roof with their legs dangling over the side, at least they wont get in the way. And if I do not wish to engage in conversation, I can always pretend I can't hear them over the noise of the engine!

 

Our boat has a generously proportioned front well with cushioned seats where all the guests can sit and enjoy themselves, and watch the world go by whilst I am steering. It is where I sit when my wife is steering the boat, it also means that the crew are at the correct end of the boat to disembark for a lock or when looking for a mooring, sensible really.

Edited June 3, 2007 by David Schweizer